Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder gave the middle finger to gays and lesbians in the state when he signed a bill on Dec. 22 that yanks domestic partner benefits away from state employees. That’s three days before Christmas, folks. Snyder Claus has nothing but lumps of coal for ho ho homos.

There was no compelling reason for such a bill to even exist - aside from the Michigan legislature’s long-standing obsession with discriminating against LGBT people, that is. Ever since the anti-gay marriage amendment passed in 2004, domestic partner benefits have been in the cross-hairs.

While some Republicans claim that doing away with the benefits helps save the cash-strapped state money, the amount of money in question is negligible, especially for a state that is leaking talented young people like a sieve.

The move, has, not surprisingly, riled up civil rights organizations and Michigan’s LGBT groups. Not that Snyder gives a shit.

Emily Dievendorf, policy director at Equality Michigan, called Snyder’s support for the bill "appalling" and accused him of caving "to the radical social agenda coming from the legislature."

"[T]he Governor told unmarried public employees that they could no longer care for their partners or children," Dievendorf said. "He has put hardworking gay and lesbian couples and their children into harm's way by eliminating important health care coverage. He has spent the last two years talking about creating a welcoming state with a attractive business climate, and these bills fly in the face of those goals."

The Michigan ACLU vowed to fight the law.

"The decision to take healthcare benefits away from families just in time for the holidays is mean-spirited and cruel," said Kary Moss, executive director of the Michigan ACLU. "The bill serves no other purpose than to single out a small minority of people and deprive them of critical protections as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution."

Oddly enough, Snyder did care about the Michigan Constitution, though only a little, when he made sure that the state’s universities would be left out of this bill. He cited the "constitutional autonomy" of universities when he touted their exclusion. On the surface this might seem like a generous move, but don’t be fooled.

Public universities in Michigan were very outspoken against this bill. "The University of Michigan must be able to offer an excellent benefit package to our employees and to those we hope to recruit to UM for their unique talents, skills and expertise," University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman wrote in a letter sent to legislators. "The loss of our ability to offer such benefits would put the university, and our state, at a serious disadvantage compared to peers."

Snyder didn’t let universities keep domestic partner benefits because he respects the need to attract the best and the brightest talent and to foster a welcoming and diverse atmosphere. No, he did it because he didn’t want universities to sue. Because he knows that he did a really shitty thing, and he made damn sure the public employees impacted - including but not limited to schools, cities, townships - didn’t have a gay leg to stand on.

These people are real. According to Equality Michigan Executive Director Denise Brogan-Kator, they include Ann Arbor teacher Theresa Bassett's partner and 6-year-old son, Kalamazoo City employee JoLinda Jach’s partner "who suffers from arthritis and early stages of glaucoma," and state employee Deb Harrah’s partner "who has diabetes and a thyroid condition."

With a stroke of a pen, Gov. Snyder told these families, "You don’t matter because you’re gay." My guess is he didn’t lose any sleep over it.